Despite the memes, Morbius re-release in cinemas fails to make an impact at the box office

Jared Leto in Morbius
(Image credit: Sony Pictures Releasing)

Morbius is back on the big screen thanks to the power of memes, but the movie hasn't done any better at the box office the second time around. 

A barrage of Morbius memes has taken over the internet, including "It's Morbin Time," a parody of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers' "It's Morphin Time!", which even caught the eye of the movie's star, Jared Leto. This onslaught of memes was seemingly enough for Sony to decide to re-release the film this past weekend.

However, Forbes reports that the movie made just $300,000 across 1,037 screens – in stark contrast, Top Gun: Maverick made $86 million in the same weekend at US theaters. 

The movie sees Leto play Michael Morbius, a scientist suffering from a rare blood disease who tries to cure himself but instead becomes a sort-of vampire – he has all the superhuman abilities (and the thirst for blood), but none of the weaknesses. Matt Smith, Michael Keaton, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, and Tyrese Gibson also star.

Morbius currently has a rating of 17% on Rotten Tomatoes and, after a delay of two years to its release date, made a total of $163 million worldwide. This was a far cry from the success of Sony/Marvel's previous antihero flick Venom, which made $856 million at the box office in 2018 and which Sony was surely hoping to replicate with Morbius. 

Next up for Marvel's Sony universe is Kraven the Hunter, which is set for release on January 13, 2023. In the meantime, check out our picks of the best superhero movies of all time. 

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

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